Okay, don’t laugh…cause I really don’t know the answer to this question. I’ve never had a checking account or anything…
Three weeks ago I got a checking account and a debit card from a local bank with money I had left over from school.
On 02/11 I wrote amazon.com a check for some books. They still haven’t gotten the check, and usually (when I send a money order) it takes a week at most to get there. It’s not that they’re waiting for it to clear - it never got there. I called the bank and they said to wait two more weeks and if they still haven’t gotten it, to call back.
That doesn’t seem right to me, to wait two more weeks.
The bank is probably saying wait longer in case it’s in processing somewhere. But if Amazon is certain it never arrived, it might have gotten lost in the mail.
Others will probably know more about this, but as I see it you’ve got a couple of options:
wait longer and hope it turns up
assume it’s gotten eaten by a dog or something, and write out a new one
have your bank cancel the check and write a new one
And here are the problems I see with each of those courses of action:
waiting longer is darn annoying, and you want your books!
there’s always the possibility that it will turn up and amazon will end up depositing two payments from you - or maybe someone ELSE will manage to cash it. I don’t know how likely this is.
this option cancels out the possibility of #2 happening, but most banks charge for this service. I’ve never cancelled a check so I don’t know any details on it, but your bank should.
That’s not normal, but I think I’d check in w/Amazon a couple of times over the coming week to see if they got it (or with the bank to see if it cleared,) and if nothing changes in a week or so I’d stop payment and start over. The thing is, there’s usually a fee on stop payment orders.
I doubt if Amazon deals with much paper, really, and whoever processes that sort of transaction may just be in the slow wing of building.
The above reply from me was to Beth, emmline just popped up inbetween.
You know what sucks? The people I contacted about whether or not they got the check are all in India (either that or each person I talked to had Indian names by coincidence) so they don’t know first hand if it ever got there (Seattle) or not.
Heehee, there are a lot of Indians in Seattle, so it could have been coincidence. You could try asking them what time it is and see if they slip up and give you some asian time zone
I ended up talking to a lot of Indians when I called Dell computers too, and they’re supposed to be in Texas…
A couple of suggestions. Log on to Amazon and go to the your account function. That will show whether the check has made it to Amazon. It’s probably the same database that the telephone service reps use so they won’t have any info that’s not on “your account”.
Ask your bank what they charge to stop payment. Some banks are now charging $25-$35. If your purchase was around that amount, it may be cheaper to eat the loss and re-order.
The most important suggestion is to stop using checks for on-line purchases. Use a credit or debit card. That’s what Amazon wants and as Em suggests, they’re not set up to take checks. If a card isn’t available, ask a friend or family member to place the order for you with their card and write them a check.
The advantage to credit/debit cards for on-line purchases is that you can monitor all aspects of the transaction including the seller and the credit ard co or bank. No wondering what happened in the mail, did the dof eat it etc.
I’ve never been charged for stopping payment on a cheque… But then again, up until two weeks ago, I was working for the bank that holds my hard-earned dollars for me, and that bank is in Canada - two variables that may or may not play a part in the fee.
Either way, if you end up writing a new cheque, I’d suggest putting a stop payment on the original cheque to avoid it being cashed, either legitimately or fraudulently.
If Amazon cashes two cheques, they may well reimburse you once, but that may take ages…
So, people are still writing cheques for mail and phone orders eh? (and internet orders) Hm…
And yeah, gotta love the Dell call centre! I asked them straight out where they were located, and after a wee hesitation, they spilled the beans.
I checked online and they haven’t received it. I’m gonna go to the bank tomorrow and cancel it and then place my order with my debit card or just not order. It was a bunch of poetry and German grammar books.
I agree. I really like it.
So, people are still writing cheques for mail and phone orders eh? (and internet orders) Hm…
It was the first check (cheque is so pretty) that I’d ever written, so I wanted to just write one. I had to use the directions on the check book to figure out how.
Most banks will charge a hefty fee (~$28 at my bank) to stop payment on a check. For small amounts it is not worth it to stop the payment on a check. I worked at a banking center for years and only recently retired, and my advice is to avoid that expense. Of course, if you are a preferred customer (meaning that you have bucks at the bank), there is no charge for stopping payments.
I have had problems lately with the US mail. Several checks that have been mailed to me have taken more than ten days to arrive, and some never did make it. I recently received an envelope with a check that had gotten damaged by an automated processing machine in Baltimore, MD. It took three weeks for the letter to finally arrive in the special USPS envelope for damaged items.
If you need the items that you ordered ASAP, then send the payment electronically, as suggested by others. Call to cancel the original order.
Never leave a check in your home mailbox, apartment mail drop box, or any sort of building mailbox for pickup. Never mail checks from a blue mailbox unless it is right at the post office and it’s almost time for them to pick it up. Especially do not do it if the letter will sit there overnight or over a weekend or holiday. Most especially do not do it if the box is nearly full.
Take it into the post office. All the way in.
Crime involving stolen mailed checks is quite popular. They have keys to the boxes, drive up, load up the letters, and away they go. They don’t just cash your check . . . they use it as a template for bigger and better things. They can actually launder the ink right off 'em.
Same goes for credit or debit cards - especially in apartment buildings… Best to have these sent to your bank directly, then you can go in there and pick them up.
The fees charged for canceling a check are idiotic. People don’t cancel checks unless they are trying to protect themselves. Would it be better to let yourself get robbed?
Another thing that really sticks in my craw is minimum balance policies. It penalizes the people who can least afford it.
I use a credit union so there’s not check fee or minimum balance.
Last week, I received a bill from my dentist. The date on the bill was 1/5/05. The envelope was pristine and undamaged. Only after confirming with the dentist that I had paid the bill in January, did I spot a small ink stamp on the envelop that said “Missent to Jamaica”.
